Hello, this is my first post. I'll give a little background so you know where I'm coming from. I was in the Army from 1999-2003. I served in 3rd ID and did one rotation in Kosovo and took part in the invasion of Iraq. I got out an E-5 and and served as a team leader during both deployments. I'm now finishing up my Bachelors degree and will be either seeking government work or may do a Masters first. Now my proposal:

As we all seen during OIF, Armour certainly has a place in the GWOT. I can still remember one of the 1st Sgt's in my Battalion claiming we were "going to war in our coffins" while conducting MOUT training with the Bradley's. Thank God, he ended up being wrong, as the Brad's and tanks preformed well on our rush up to Baghdad and beyond.

So, my idea is the creation of a Ranger-type-Special-Operations-Capable-PanzerGrendier-unit. While the desert is obvious, the winds seem to be blowing towards Sub-Saharan Africa as the battle space of the future. This is why the creation of such a unit would seem to be appropriate.

I'm not exactly sure how the unit would be assembled? I'm thinking 3 companies of Infantry, one tank company, one recon (with snipers), company, one mortar company, HQ company. Either way, it must be capable of being airlifted to wherever it must go. This may mean that Abrams and Bradley's would have to be replaced with something smaller?

The soldiers would have to go through something like RIP. Every Infantry, Cav-Scout, and Medic NCO would be required to have a Ranger tab. The tankers and other NCO's would be encouraged as well. Just like the Ranger Batt's, the PT standards would high, and the unit would be well equipped. The Tankers would be chosen for their ability shoot gunnery in a superior fashion. I'd also like to see the people who man the Bradly's or other APC's be full time tack people but this may not be possible?

Training would be just as intense as a Ranger Batt. The unit would also train along side other Special operations units, just like Rangers or Marine SOC units' do. While being airborne qualified would be nice too, I'm not sure this would matter besides the psychological understanding that everyone in the unit is willing to jump out of an airplane?

The unit would mainly be used for situations where Special operations forces are needed, but require armour. During the resent operations in Somalia, Ethiopian Armour forces were used, this unit would be used when such forces are unavailable or unable to accomplish the mission.

During OIF I, a unit like this was used in Northern Iraq. It obviously wasn't Ranger-like, but did get inserted by air after the 173rd secured the airfield. It took something like 5 days however, to get a company's worth of gear and personal on the ground. The unit I'm describing would need to get their whole battalion/UOA on the ground in 24-36 hours. This in itself, would require lots of coordination.